Engine painting project

Bicki Howell, Nellie D. 37VT63

Recently, we overhauled the engine room on Nellie D.  It was a project that took us over 6 weeks.  As we took things apart we learned a lot about the engine and even found a few unexpected things.  One discovery was that a bolt head on the rear, port-side engine mount had sheared off in the transmission.  It was certainly a relief when Dave was able to drill it out.  Surprisingly many of the hose clamps broke when they were reused.  For that reason we replaced every one of them.  In addition, all the hoses were replaced; some were quite expensive at over $16/foot.  To clean the heat exchanger we soaked it in a five gallon bucket filled with "Etch and Prep" phosphoric acid from Home Depot.  We replaced the transmission oil cooler after finding several small pin holes around its hose fitting.  The injectors were bench tested and proved serviceable.  At a quarter the price of the OEM engine starter motor, we opted for an after market motor.  It has worked well.  All parts received new gaskets before being reinstalled.  Worn bolts and crush washers were replaced and all bolts were torqued to Cummins' specifications.  We also replaced the lift pump, coolant overflow bottle, thermostat, belt, filters, impeller and Cummins water pump.   

The engine as we took it apart - a bit embarrassing how bad it had gotten.

The engine looks a lot better!